HTC 'first' device may be Facebook's starter Home

Photo by CNET
Another day, another Facebook "phone" rumor. This time around, the folks at 9to5Google believe that a leaked photo of a device apparently called the "HTC first" means that we'll see Facebook's "Home" on Android debut on the iPhone-like smartphone.

Thursday, Facebook is expected to show off an HTC device running "Facebook Home," a version of the Android operating system that makes the social network's features and applications native to smartphones.

The device in question was rumored to be code-named "Myst," but a new rumor suggests the phone may actually be called "first."

The Twitter account @evleaks posted a fairly nondescript picture of the supposed HTC first. 9to5Google, a source of several Facebook phone-related stories in the past few days, believes the screenshot corroborates its previous intel.

"It looks pretty much identical to the Facebook-HTC device that we described last week," the site said. "Given that the image lines up with what [we] previously heard, we expect the device shown above to be the first, or one of the first, Facebook Home handsets."

Previously, 9to5Google cited sources who had seen a Facebook-HTC smartphone that resembled an iPhone, albeit with a slightly larger screen, and included a bottom-center home button with two additional function keys.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. We suspect we'll hear back with official word no sooner than Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Update 4:07 p.m PT: As expected, a Facebook spokesperson said that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.